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Pia Wurtzbach gives hope to boy who needs liver transplant

Voltaire Tupaz

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Pia Wurtzbach gives hope to boy who needs liver transplant

JJR

Kicking off her charity work, Pia Wurtzbach also spends time with wounded Filipino soldiers and people with HIV

MANILA, Philippines – In a sea of soldiers, nurses, and patients, 6-year-old Kurt Sebastian Balingasa proved to be the luckiest on Wednesday, January 27, when Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach visited the AFP Medical Hospital in Quezon City.

Balingasa welcomed Wurtzbach with a kiss, a hug, and a stuffed toy before the beauty queen met with about 50 wounded soldiers and 5 people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

“Excuse, excuse,” Balingasa pleaded as he and his mother inched their way through the excited crowd that quickly surrounded the Miss Universe.

Since birth, Balingasa, a son of soldiers from the Philippine Air Force, has suffered from biliary atresia, a rare disease of the liver.  

Moved by the boy’s condition, Wurtzbach spent a few minutes with him. She gave Balingasa a few lollipops and allowed him to play with her bejewelled crown. 

 

 

P6 M needed for liver transplant 

Balingasa is presently under the care of the Makati Medical Center Foundation and the AFP Medical Center.

“He was in awe. It was one of his wishes. We thank Pia for the time that she spent with Kurt. I’m sure  he’ll remember it forever,” shared Margie Barro, Makati Medical Foundation executive director.  

Balingasa needs to immediately undergo a liver transplant in Taiwan, but his family is still raising P6 million.

“He has very little time. You can see that his skin has turned yellow,” Barro said, optimistic that Wurtzbach’s visit will help boost their efforts to generate the amount.

Binibining Pilipinas chairperson Stella Araneta told Rappler that the foundation of the country’s leading beauty pageant will help raise funds to help save the boy. 

 

 

Beautiful queen with a heart

Wurtzbach’s mother, Cheryl Alonzo-Tyndall, felt proud seeing her daughter giving smiles to the faces of the patients, including Balingasa, sharing how she raised her daughter into a beautiful woman with a heart. 

“First time niyang pumunta sa hospital na ganito for charity. Tingnan mo naman, ang tagal niya doon. Nakikipag-usap sa mga sugatan, sa mga patients.”

(It’s her first time to visit a hospital like this for her charity work. She stayed long to talk to the wounded, the patients) 

 

 

It was her daughter’s heartfelt remark during the final question-and-answer round that ultimately crowned her Miss Universe 2015: “To be a Miss Universe is both an honor and a responsibility. If I were to be Miss Universe, I will use my voice to influence the youth, and I will raise awareness… [of] certain causes like HIV [and other issues that are] timely and relevant to my country.

“I want to show the world – the universe rather – that I am confidently beautiful with a heart.” – Rappler.com

For others who would like to help the young boy, you may deposit cash donations through the following bank account:

BANCO DE ORO
KURT SEBASTIAN F. BALINGASA
(Junior Savers Account)
Account number: 008310014053

You can also keep in touch with the Balingasa family and their support groups through the Facebook page Let’s save Kurt. Save one’s life.

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